Generous Citizens and Businesses Inducted into SUU's Old Main Society

November 24, 2003Author: Renee BallengerCategory: Academics

The same spirit of devotion and sacrifice that led to the historic founding of Southern Utah University in 1897 is very much in evidence today among the University’s wonderful alumni and friends, who continue to play a significant role in the institution and its success.

One way in which supporters of SUU are recognized is through induction into the Old Main Society. Old Main is the beloved name of the University’s first building, still erect, and a haven for higher learning. As valued partners in the quest for education, the members of the Old Main Society provide a vital margin of excellence that enable the University to meet the challenges of today’s higher education.

HISTORY OF THE OLD MAIN SOCIETY--In May 1897, the Utah Territorial Legislature passed a bill establishing a Branch Normal School to be built in Cedar City. In December of that year, citizens learned that unless a building was built by the fall of 1898, the bill authorizing the school would become void by default.

All of the available building material in the community had been used. This meant brick had to be made, and lumber sawed and brought from the mountains during the winter--an unheard of undertaking said by many to be impossible. However, overcoming major obstacles and crises, with hard work and perseverance, and the endurance of real hardship and financial sacrifice, became everyday experience for the builders of the college.

Finally, the toils and sacrifices resulted in the completion of the Old Main building. The State accepted the building, and Branch Normal School, as an arm of the University of Utah, opened its doors to receive students in September 1898.

As Old Main symbolizes the history, spirit and achievements--indeed, the essence of the University - so the members of the Old Main Society symbolize the enrichment of disciplines and activities through a partnership of private and public resources.

Cumulative cash, in-kind, or deferred gifts of $25,000 to $99,999 made to the University qualifies one for membership in the Old Main Society, the institution’s most prestigious giving society..

“Old Main Society – Benefactor” is the level for gifts between $100,000 and $499,999.

“Old Main – Gold Medallion” gifts qualify at $500,000 to $999,999, and the “Old Main Society – Centurium Circle” is denoted by gifts more than $1,000,000.

The following 2003 inductees will be received into SUU’s Old Main Society on the evening of December 2 during the President's Club Holiday Dinner:
- Charles Bryan and Margurrite Madsen Jackson
- Clarence L. and Dorothy Ruth Jolley
- American Pacific Corporation
- Utah Power-PacifiCorp
- State Bank of Southern Utah.

THE OLD MAIN SOCIETY 2003 INDUCTEES

OLD MAIN SOCIETY
Charles Bryan and Margurrite Madsen Jackson
Charlie and Maggie Jackson have expressed their love and support for Southern Utah University in many ways. An alumnus of the Branch Agricultural College, Charlie currently serves on the SUU Board of Fellows and the SUU National Alumni Board. One of their four children, Jeffrey Charles Jackson, also attended SUU. Charlie has been in the employee benefits administration field for more than 30 years, and is currently owner and president of the consulting firm, Jackson Advisors, Inc., in Salt Lake City. He is a member of the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, a lifetime member and former president of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, and a founder and former chairman of the Society of Professional Benefit Plan Administrators. He served six years on the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics Commission and served in an advisory role for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Maggie is a homemaker and mother of the first order and, according to Charlie, “the one person who is primarily responsible for any successes (he) has enjoyed.” The Jacksons support SUU business students through the Charles Bryan Jackson Endowment.

Clarence L. and Dorothy Ruth Jolley
Clarence Jolley was attending Branch Agricultural College when he met Mary Lou Pendleton. He fondly remembers her as being the smartest and most beautiful girl at the BAC (she was the valedictorian of the graduating class of 1953). Clarence and Mary Lou married the day after graduation. She earned a one of the first four-year degrees awarded from the school, in elementary education. Mary Lou’s education at BAC prepared her for motherhood and being Clarence’s business partner. Clarence served as the president and founder of several marketing companies over the span of his professional years, and is the current president and developer of Dixie Springs, Inc.--a 1,400-lot development near Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County, Utah. After Mary Lou’s death in 1996, Clarence married Dorothy Ruth Reyneke in 1997. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dorothy holds two degrees from the University of Utah. She proudly became a United States citizen in 1999. The Jolleys lovingly established a scholarship endowment in honor of the late Mary Lou Pendleton Jolley--an outstanding lady, wife, mother, and an exceptional product of the BAC-(SUU).

Old Main Society – BENEFACTOR
American Pacific Corporation (AMPAC) is a leader in the specialty chemical business with products that are used in the space, automotive, and defense industries. Located 15 miles northwest of Cedar City, the company built its Iron County facility in 1988 and has since emerged as one of the area’s largest private sector employers and top taxpayers. AMPAC has five main divisions: Western Electrochemical, Halotron Division of AMPAC, American Azide Corporation, PEPCON Systems and AMPAC Development. Since 1998, AMPAC’s WECCO division is the only North American producer of ammonium perchlorate, which is the sole oxidizing agent for solid fuel rockets, booster motors, and missiles that are used in space exploration, commercial satellite transportation, and national defense programs. American Azide Corporation is the sole North American manufacturer of sodium azide, a primary chemical component of certain automobile airbag systems. AMPAC prides itself on quality products and customer satisfaction while utilizing positive teamwork and leadership. It has generously supported SUU in the areas of athletics, scholarships, Utah Summer Games, and the Utah Shakespearean Festival.

State Bank of Southern Utah is, indeed, a local success story. The bank opened in a rented building on North Main in 1957 due to the tenacity of 13 community leaders who pulled together $180,000 in capital. Nearly 50 years later, State Bank is now located in a 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art building and serves southwestern Utah, southeastern Nevada and northern Arizona. Success and growth have been an integral part of State Bank. The business’ decisions are made by people who live and work in southern Utah, so bank leaders understand the needs of the area residents because they are also affected by the same economic climate. Meeting the needs of southern Utah is their primary focus, and the personal touch that built State Bank of Southern Utah in 1957 is still evident today. State Bank supports SUU through scholarships, athletics, the President’s Club, alumni programs, Utah Summer Games, Friends of the Gallery, Governor’s Honors Academy and the Utah Shakespearean Festival.

Old Main Society – GOLD MEDALLION
Utah Power-PacifiCorp is one of the West’s largest electric utilities with over 6,600 employees and 1.5 million customers. Their service area covers 135,000 square miles in Utah, Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho and California. The focus of Utah Power-PacifiCorp is to provide a safe and reliable power supply to its customers. Employees are committed to ongoing investments in their systems and equipment, which will ensure the highest level of reliability. PacifiCorp also believes in being sensitive environmental stewards through reduction of impacts on the natural world. They are constantly searching for ways to protect and serve our world through renewable energy, habitat protection and energy efficiency. Through its newsletter and electrical safety presentations, PacifiCorp is dedicated to customer safety and educating the public on how to conserve on the use of electrical power. Utah Power has provided invaluable support to Southern Utah University in the form of scholarship support, athletics, President’s Club, Utah Summer Games and Shakespeare.